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It follows the launch success of its 'Bucket List' series - a selection of one-off endurance events in the Panama jungle, an icy lake in Mongolia and the Namibian desert.

The US events, priced between $1,000 and $2,000 per entrant, are set to launch in the autumn of 2019.

They are billed as 'city-to-sea' - with the Florida event taking place from Miami to Key West along the Florida Keys while the New York one sees those taking part follow the entire course of the Hudson River from upstate New York to Manhattan.

Both involve a multi-sport challenge of cycling, kayaking and running or trekking.

Rat Race founder Jim Mee, formerly marketing executive at Red Bull, says the two new events are a "bold new addition" for the company.

Jim Mee set up Rat Race to pursue his passion for location-specific event experiences

It is hoped they will also prove a major market for the firm's range of online apparel and outdoor equipment, which currently comprise around 10 per cent of sales.

Mee - who set up the firm to pursue his passion for location-specific event experiences - said: “These are important additions to our now worldwide portfolio, catering to some 50,000 people annually.

"The US is a key target market for us, and we hope that our presence there will also help us boost our apparel range, which is an increasingly important part of our business.”

Rat Race Adventure Sports has won praise throughout the Scottish tourism industry for its success in exploiting Scotland's attractions as a world-class destination for adventure challenges, making the best of its stunning scenery, and its wilderness and urban playgrounds.

Since the Edinburgh Rat Race, the UK's first urban adventure race, began in 2004, over 500,000 people have taken part in their Scottish events - with 65% of those have been visitors from out-with Scotland.

Participant numbers in Scotland have doubled in the last five years with 20,000 entering Scottish events in 2018, with at least 75% of those coming from outside the country.

Chief amongst this is Rat Race’s famous Coast to Coast challenge, first staged in 2007, in which more than 10,000 adventurers have run, cycled and kayaked across Scotland.

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This year’s event, which took place between 8-9 September comprisesd a 105-mile multi-sport course from Nairn to Glencoe.

So far 8,000 Coast to Coast participants have travelled from out-with Scotland, as far a field as New Zealand, the USA, South America and Europe. It is particularly popular with visitors from the Netherlands and Belgium.